


Not a number, not a name

by twozuzim



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: Rebellion Era - All Media Types, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Clone Angst, Dissociation, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Light Angst, Other, Post-Star Wars: The Clone Wars
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-12
Updated: 2016-12-12
Packaged: 2018-09-08 02:13:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 980
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8826397
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/twozuzim/pseuds/twozuzim
Summary: After the Clone Wars, Clone trooper Beskar freezes up during a fight, and it's up to his brother Ace to get them both to safety.





	

_Beskar had been born for warfare, and he was no stranger to firefights; as a child, he and his brothers had played pretend during their short breaks, making the sounds of blasterfire with their mouths. Not that they'd needed to, really, with the training on Kamino. It was something they already had to do enough, holding real blasters in their hands more often than not._

_He was five years old when he first saw one of his brothers killed, armor singed and glowing where the all-too-real shot had torn through the training armor. Five years old when he first saw a brother’s body hit the ground in anything other than exhaustion._

 "Bes--"

  _Five years old, in a body too big for him, when Beskar realized that he wasn't able to handle it._

 "--eskar--"

  _He'd stood there, frozen, waiting for his brother to move, to get up with a laugh, to breathe, to do something other than lay there with blank eyes staring at the ceiling while a voice roared at the child, CT-2591, to kriffing_ get moving _or he'd be next--_

 "Beskar!"

 With a jolt, Beskar found himself propped up against a pile of rubble, ears ringing and hand weighed down by a blaster he couldn’t remember drawing. A haze seemed to shroud his mind, leaving him struggling to take in his surroundings, only to be thrown off kilter once more with each blast echoing through the streets.

 He began to rise with a grunt, only to be yanked back down by a sudden hand on his shoulder.

 “Not a good idea, Besky.” With the pain in his head, it took a moment for Beskar to recognize the figure holding him down, to put together what he was seeing with what he could remember.

  _Ace._

  _Ace, are you alright? What’s going one? Ace-_

 Beskar couldn’t make himself speak; it was a struggle to even open his mouth, and all that came out was a strangled gasp.

 “Beskar!” Concern radiated from Ace’s voice, audible even though the helmet’s speaker. “Can you hear me?” The hand still on his shoulder gave him a gentle shake.

 Beskar nodded in a swift, jerky motion, flinching as the roar of another blast tore through the- the town? City? His HUD was so _blurry_ , they had been in a cantina, and Rion was- where was Rion? Why-

 “Hey, stay with me, _ner vod._ Don’t make me use the captain voice.” A series of quick, sharp noises brought Beskar’s attention back to his brother, who stopped snapping once his helmet was facing towards him.

 Beskar’s HUD cleared as he blinked rapidly, trying to see if Ace was injured. _Crying,_ he realized dimly. Panic rose- would he get in trouble? His helmet was on, nobody could tell, but Ace always seemed to know- _Ace._ Ace was here.

 “Brother.” His voice came out as a rasp, but Ace’s shoulders seemed to sag with relief despite it.  

 “Glad to see you’re still with us, Besky.” Ace gave Beskar’s shoulder another pat before removing his arm, risking a look over their cover. “You remember how you got here?”

 Beskar shook his head mutely before remembering he was supposed to speak. “No- no,” he answered. “No.” There was a pause before Ace replied.

 “That’s okay, Beskar. We’ll go over it later, when we’re back on our ship.” His voice was, Beskar thought, unusually gentle for their situation. Normally there was more swearing-

  _Buir, what’s that word Ace used?_

 “Rion,” Beskar rasped, panic gripping him once more.

  _Small body in the training room-_

 “Safe with Zahav on the ship,” Ace answered, “which is where we’re headed, Beskar.”

  _Bodies in the temple Rion the same age same age Rion in the temple_

 “Beskar!”

 A muffled sob tore from Beskar’s throat as Ace grasped his shoulder tightly, bringing him back to the present.

 “Beskar, Rion’s safe,” Ace said firmly. “We have to get back to the ship, Beskar. You with me?” When he didn’t move, there was quiet swear, and then-

 “CT-2591!”

 Beskar inhaled sharply, number overriding his thoughts.

 “I need you to stay with me if we’re going to reach the ship, trooper,” Ace said sharply. “Can you do that for me?”

 “Sir!”

 

The series of event that followed were a blur; he followed Ace- _Captain_ Ace through the ruined town almost mechanically, orders and use of his number going straight to muscle memory as if skipping over his brain.

He couldn’t tell how much time had passed by the time they made it to the ship and they were well into hyperspace, CT- _Beskar_ sitting rigidly in his seat, before he realized Ace, out of armor, had plopped down next to him.

For a while, neither of them spoke.

Eventually Ace lightly rapped his hand against Beskar’s helmet, and Beskar slowly took it off.

“Rion’s asleep,”  Ace said conversationally. “Zahav’s with him.”

Beskar only nodded; Ace paused before continuing.

“It was a local rebellion. We just happened to be where the fighting broke out, and the Empire- well.”

Beskar nodded; Ace sighed, less out of frustration than empathy.

“I’m safe, Beskar. We all are. That’s all that matters.”

“But I-”

“Doesn’t matter,” Ace said promptly. “It’s okay. We can talk about it later, Beskar. When you’re feeling ready. For now, let’s go check on Rion- I’m sure he’d want to see his favorite _buir_ once he wakes up.”

With that, Ace reached up and ruffled his brother’s hair.

Beskar couldn’t help grinning, even as he felt the tears well up.

“I’m his only _buir._ Zahav’s Punch-Mom _,_ and you’re Ace.”

“Sometimes I’m Dad,” Ace protested, ruffling Beskar’s hair even further as revenge.

A loud laugh escaped Beskar, followed by a series of muffled, quiet sobs as Ace pulled him into a hug. They sat that way for a while, Beskar clinging to Ace like a lifeline.

“We’re safe, Beskar,” he said softly. “We’re safe.”

**Author's Note:**

> Title from Regina Spektor's Ballad of a Politician! May edit later. Ace and Rion belong to xieme!


End file.
